


Pure, Unadulterated Joy

by can_i_slytherin



Series: Lock-down Writing Challenge [4]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gay Male Character, Getting Together, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23361367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/can_i_slytherin/pseuds/can_i_slytherin
Summary: Soulmates are a wonderful thing- Eddie would know.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: Lock-down Writing Challenge [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676824
Comments: 6
Kudos: 87





	Pure, Unadulterated Joy

**Author's Note:**

> Day Four of my challenge and my generator gave me Reddie- I wrote a soulmate au because I'm a slut for soulmates!eddie and richie.
> 
> Enjoy- as usual, comments and kudos are welcome! 
> 
> Happy Reading!

Soulmates. They were created by the Ancient Gods after a human had wronged the Goddess of Love. She had taken the humans’ souls and split them directly in half, separating them into different bodies. At first, she had been inclined to let them find their other halves themselves, but her lover had convinced her to give the humans a small sign. 

Thus was the birth of the Soulmark. A black blob, in the shape of the mate’s hand, that would turn a brilliant mix of colours upon being touched. 

Eddie Kaspbrak was born with a handprint at the base of his spine. He had memorised the shape of it from a young age, staring at it well into the night. The fingers were long and thin, spreading across the line of Eddie’s back and reaching towards the waistband of his trousers. He loved it, such a delicate thing, the greatest show of affection, reminding him in his darkest of times that someone would always love him. 

Eddie had spent years of his life, searching for that one person, hoping that every hand that touched the base of his spine would be  _ the  _ hand. But, it never was. So, he settled. 

Myra wasn’t born with a soulmark. Her body remained blank, no black hand in sight, and so, Eddie married her. A marriage of convenience, he had told himself, and it was. He hated being lonely, hated the thought of never finding his soulmate and dying alone. So, he had married for no other reason than companionship. 

But, then.  _ Then,  _ he received a call from Mike Hanlon. It was back, 27 years after their first fight with the dreaded thing, and they needed to go home to Derry. They needed to help Mike defeat the damned beast. 

So, Eddie had packed a bag, gone back to Derry, and, as soon as he set foot in his hometown, he was hit with an ocean of memories, each one more powerful than the last. Waves of emotions crashing into him, begging to pull him under. 

The Losers. Bill. Ben. Stan. Bev.  _ Richie _ . 

Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier. One hell of a person. Funny and sarcastic and attractive. Eddie had had such a  _ huge  _ crush on the bespectacled dork, hoping and praying that he would be his soulmate, but he never touched the mark. It was always his shoulder, his wrist, his waist, but  _ never  _ his spine. Never the one place that he longed for Richie to touch. 

Then, they’d been thrown into another fight against It and Eddie had had to push aside his feelings  _ again. _ But, in the Sewers, Richie had been caught by the Deadlights and Eddie had frozen, clammed up in fear. Rigid and scared, panicking that today could be the day that he lost his best friend, that he lost the man he loved. 

The prospect had shocked him into action and he had caught the metal fence post out the corner of his eye- anything is a weapon if you believe it. He had picked it up, summoning all the strength and bravery that he possessed, and walked out into the battlefield, standing in front of Pennywise with quaking knees before launching the metal stick towards It with all his might. The pointed end had lodged in It’s throat and it choked, blood spurting from its mouth. It staggered back and Eddie had turned to Richie, now sprawled across the floor, and grinned wide. 

“I did it!” He yelled, “I really-” 

Eddie was cut off when Richie surged forward, wrapping his arms around his waist, and pulled him backwards, lying flat on the ground with Eddie on top of him. A sharp, crab-like leg shot past Eddie’s ear, missing him by a fraction, and he realised, belatedly, that if Richie hadn’t pulled him down, then that leg would be in his chest. 

Eddie moved to stand, but stopped when a searing heat, unlike anything he had ever experienced, shot up his spine and he slumped forward, thighs bracketing Richie’s waist, hand shooting out to catch himself on his chest. Richie gasped, eyes glazing over and rolling into the back of his head, before he dug his fingers into Eddie’s spine, bruising the unblemished skin. 

“R-Rich?” Eddie whispered, chest heaving and eyes wide as he looked down at the bespectacled man, “W-What just happened?” 

Richie grinned, eyelids fluttering as he forced himself to look up at Eddie, “I believe, Eddie Spaghetti, that we might be soulmates.” 

“But, what?” Eddie shook his head, “Not possible. We’ve touched each other before now!” 

Richie smirked, “Not where it counted, apparently.” 

Eddie rolled his eyes and gently punched Richie’s arm, “We’ll talk about this when it’s over, okay?”

The black-haired man grinned and nodded, “Okay. Let’s go save the world.” 

He and Richie pulled themselves to their feet, rejoining the fight. Everything had whizzed past and, suddenly, they were stood in the centre of Pennywise’s lair, the alien having long since been banished, when the tunnel began to fall apart. 

The Losers had scrambled to the exit, walls closing in around them, and threw themselves out of the front door of Neibolt House, sprawling across the street. They laid there for a few moments, reeling over the events that had happened in the Sewers, when suddenly Eddie felt a surge of confidence, rolling on top of Richie before grabbing the man’s shirt, hauling him into a seated position. 

Eddie pressed their lips together, eyes slipping shut, and grinned when Richie made a noise of content, arms curling around his waist, bringing him impossibly closer. Richie tasted metallic and dirty, the remnants of blood and grime from the fight clinging to his lips, but Eddie didn’t care because he also tasted sweet and warm, like an ice cream on a hot summer’s day.

They pulled away after a little while, foreheads resting together and lungs heaving as they drew in heavy breaths, flipping the bird at the other Losers as they began to whistle and jeer at them. 

But, rather than being angry, Eddie found his heart swelling, chest tight with emotion, and he realised, as warmth flooded into him from where he was pressed against Richie, that this, right here, surrounded by his best friends, worn and broken from battle, was what happiness felt like- pure, unadulterated joy.


End file.
